Funding relationships are often problematic:
- The funders who have the money are based in the North (or are branches or affiliates of Northern organisations, controlled from the North), and they have their own agendas which they wish to pursue.
- The NGOs who are seeking money are based in the South, often desperate for money in countries where there are limited sources available to them. This means that they will want to take whatever money is offered, and on the terms and conditions on which it is offered, whether or not it is for exactly what they want to be doing.

Unequal funding relationships exist everywhere, but are far more pronounced in the South, and especially in Africa from the Sahara to Zimbabwe – partly because there is much less funding around, and partly because there is much less indigenous tradition of NGO activity which pre-dates the rapid rise of international development aid over the past 30 or so years which has developed a consequential need for local partner organisations.

The effect of this is that it pushes Southern NGOs into a dependency relationship with their funding partners. They are always in a position of having to “beg for money” and be subservient. And the tune is definitely being called by “he who pays the piper”. And because the funders control the distribution of money, this gives them a position of power often leading to a certain arrogance.

* Read the rest of this article by clicking on the link below. Michael Norton is the founder of the Directory of Social Change in the UK. He has also founded and co-founded a number of organisations promoting community involvement amongst young people and social entrepreneurship. He also runs a number of development projects in India.

* Norton will be speaking on this topic at the 5th International Workshop on Resource Mobilisation, on 26th –28th March 2004 in Johannesburg, South Africa. He will be presenting workshops on: ‘How to raise funds successfully in your local community’, and ‘Communicating your need’ in addition to co-presenting a discussion forum on ‘Expanding the donor base: do Northern NGOs and Southern NGOs face the same challenges?’

* Use the following URL for programme and booking information on the 5th IWRM – sectionid=5&subsectionid=70